Problem Statement:
There is a business need to allow users to filter and analyze data based on specific times (e.g., 14:30). The current 'Date' format in Anaplan does not provide this level of granularity. This functionality is essential for time-sensitive planning and analysis use cases where differentiating between events on the same day is crucial.
Current Workaround & Its Limitations:
To meet this requirement, our current workaround is to create a separate line item formatted as 'Text' to store the time. Another option would be a custom list, but not the idea here. This solution, while functional, introduces several significant drawbacks:
1. Model Size: A text-formatted line item consumes 8 bytes of space per cell, which is double the 4 bytes used by a 'Date' or 'Number' format. In large-scale models, this contributes to unnecessary model size and sparsity.
2. User Experience: Filtering on a text field is less intuitive and more "clunky" for the end-user compared to the native filtering capabilities available for numerical or date-based formats.
3. Performance: Calculations and filtering on text-based time data are inherently less performant than they would be on a native, optimized time data type.
Proposed Solution:
I propose the introduction of a new, dedicated 'Time' line item format. This format would be designed to store time values with hour and minute granularity.
Business Value & Benefits:
· Improved Performance: A native time format would be computationally more efficient, leading to faster calculations and a better end-user experience.
· Optimized Model Size: This format would presumably occupy 4 bytes, similar to other time-based formats, cutting the required workspace in half compared to the text workaround and reducing model sparsity.
· Enhanced User Experience: It would enable more intuitive and powerful filtering and sorting capabilities, consistent with other Anaplan data types.
